Fighters in Sudan’s capital have targeted buildings occupied by diplomats and international humanitarian agency staff since violence erupted in the North African nation four days ago, the United Nations said.
(Bloomberg) — Fighters in Sudan’s capital have targeted buildings occupied by diplomats and international humanitarian agency staff since violence erupted in the North African nation four days ago, the United Nations said.
Armed personnel entered the homes of people working for the UN and international non-governmental organizations in downtown areas of Khartoum, according to an internal UN document seen by Bloomberg. The gunmen sexually assaulted women and stole cars and other belongings.
The army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has clashed with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum and other cities since April 15, leaving more than 180 people dead and at least 1,800 others injured. The conflict has set back hopes of a return to civilian rule after a 2021 coup and sparked fears of a full-blown civil war.
“In Khartoum, armed uniformed personnel, reportedly from RSF, are entering the residences of expats, separating men and women and taking them away,” the UN said. One rape incident was reported, it said.
The UN document surfaced as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said an American diplomatic convoy came under fire in Sudan, and after the European Union said Ambassador Aidan O’Hara was assaulted at his home in the capital. Those incidents follow the death of three UN World Food Programme employees in the western Darfur region after a firefight at a military base at the weekend.
Read more: Blinken Says US Diplomatic Convoy Shot at in Sudan, All Safe
In other incidents cited in the UN document, two Nigerian men working for an international organization were abducted, while a building occupied by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was targeted, though no injuries were reported. A rocket-propelled grenade also hit the residence of a local UN staff member in the Burri area of Khartoum, it said.
RSF fighters are focused on securing military bases and none of its forces are “on a mission to detain or enter the houses of citizens,” the group said in a statement, adding that it had arrested people who’d donned RSF uniforms to carry out “such activities.”
Read more: What’s Behind the Fighting in Sudan and What It Means: QuickTake
While the RSF said Tuesday it agreed to a 24-hour cessation of hostilities after discussions with Blinken and representatives from other “friendly nations,” to allow for the evacuation of civilians and the wounded, the army rejected the notion that a ceasefire had been reached.
“We are not aware of any coordination with mediators and the international community about a truce, and the rebellion’s declaration of a 24-hour truce aims to cover up the crushing defeat it will receive within hours,” the military said in a statement on its Facebook page. “We have entered a critical phase and our efforts are focused on achieving its objectives.”
Spokespeople for the army and the UN didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
–With assistance from Iain Marlow.
(Updates with proposed truce in third-last paragraph.)
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